Dec 31 13
Refugees United tops 250,000 users
Christopher and David Mikkelsen, co-founders of Refugees United, reflect on key milestones in 2013 that brought Refugees United closer to its goal of bringing one million refugees onto the platform by 2015. More than a quarter of a million refugees and forcibly displaced people worldwide are now registered on the mobile phone family-tracing platform pioneered by Refugees United. That’s five times the number our organization reached in October 2011. This milestone comes at a time when more than 45 million people have been forcibly displaced around the world. In the face of widespread forced displacement, Refugees United and partners worked…
Nov 19 13
#FamilyIs: Refugees United launches Global “Family Is…” Campaign on Google+ to connect separated refugee families Thanksgiving is a time for family to be together. But not everyone is fortunate enough to be with their family. This holiday season, Refugees United, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and Church World Service (CWS), will bring together families torn apart by war and disaster on Google+ via the free, multi-person broadcast video calling feature, Hangouts On Air. In a series entitled ”Family Is,” family members in Kenya will be able to see the faces of family members resettled in the US who they…
Jun 2 13
Refugees United and Ericsson announce semi-finalists of ‘Global Hack for Good’ in Cairo
Press release: First-of-a-kind event aimed at creating technical solutions that help separated families find their lost relatives A voice application to help illiterate people and an integration into the Twitter platform were named semi-finalist projects at the first ‘Global Hack for Good’ hackathon in Cairo on June 1 The two semi-finalists from Egypt will be runners-up in the global competition that culminates on World Refugee Day on June 20, where Ericsson and Refugees United are hosting a Google Hangout to announce the winners Ericsson and Refugees United hosted the first ‘Global Hack for Good’ from May 31 to June 1…
May 28 13
Refugees United and Ericsson Announce Technical Challenges Ahead of Global Hack for Good
Solve one of these nine challenges and help reunite separated refugee families. Put your skills to the test and compete to win a trip to Kenya and test your prototype in a refugee camp. Join the Global Hack for Good powered by Ericsson and Refugees United. This Global Hack for Good will take place in Cairo, Silicon Valley, and Nairobi. Register on Meetup.com today and participate in the event in your city. At each event, dedicated developers will have a weekend to solve a technical challenge that will be judged by an expert jury including Ericsson and Refugees United representatives.…
May 20 13
Refugees United and Ericsson Announce Global Hack for Good to Connect Refugees to Missing Families
PRESS RELEASE — In order to raise awareness of the plight of refugees, and find new ways to reconnect refugee families in some of the most remote areas in the world, Ericsson and Refugees United will run a series of developer competitions leading up to World Refugee Day, on 20 June 2013. The number of forcibly displaced people around the world is measured now at 43 million. That is why it is urgent to reconnect families who have been separated due to conflict, war, and disaster. So far over 200,000 refugees have registered on the service, and the aim is to reach…
May 16 13
PRESS RELEASE // Refugees United Receives Prestigious Award
Copenhagen, Denmark – Prix Ars Electronica honors individuals, institutions and organizations that have made an outstanding achievement in the field of art and technology. Refugees United has received an Award of Distinction from Prix Ars Electronica 2013 in the category Digital Communities, which honors innovative work that bridges geographical, cultural and gender divides. Established in 1987, Prix Ars Electronica is one of the most important awards honoring what is new, radically different and making an impact right now. Headquartered in Linz in Austria, Prix Ars Electronica has previously honored sites, such as Wikipedia, Pixar and Wikileaks. The Award of Distinction…
May 10 13
Refugees United’s East Africa Camp Coordinator, Natalia Alvarado and Outreach Volunteer, Farhiya Shazz visiting a Hafyo Youth Group Seminar at the Kobciye Community Centre in Kenya. They presented Refugees United’s work to reconnect families separated by war and conflict. Hafyo Youth Group is a Somali organization advocating against female genital mutilation.
Nov 3 11
WIRED 2011 Conference
Having just returned from a whirlwind two and a half days of Wired11 conference in London I’m chock-full of inspiration and lingering thoughts from wicked conversations. Presided over by David Rowan and a rocking Wired team, the setting was picture perfect, taking up parts of the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel with all its old-world charm of booking offices, arrival halls and a busy-quiet atmosphere. Some 300 people attended from the worlds of advertising and startups, tech, biotech and the media, with everyone in a beautiful mishmash of thoughts and conversations across all Olympic thought-disciplines. While all talks were fascinating and…
Oct 24 11
Pop!Tech Social Innovation Fellows 2011
David and I were recently announced as PopTech Social Innovation Fellows for the class of 2011. Following in the footsteps of several of our peers from Ushahidi, Praekelt Foundation and others, it is with wonder, pride and excitement that we enter this year’s classroom. Many fine and smart folks have stepped through these halls before us, and we’re sure that the process will leave us bruised with knowledge and insight, all the more equipped to face the immense challenges Refugees United stand before. As we “speak,” David is in Camden, Maine, damn well near cut off from the connected grid,…
Oct 12 11
Refugees United and RCK in Eastleigh Streets of Eastleigh Visiting Ethiopian refugees, Eastleigh Refugees United in Nairobi, September 2011 Chapter 2. One of the most impacting experiences of the week was an afternoon that Chris and I spent in Eastleigh together with Vladimir and one of our local community mobilizers (these are refugees themselves, employed through the Refugee Consortium of Kenya to help spread awareness about Refugees United and help refugees sign up to our platform). Our aim was to gain some first-hand insights into our ‘customer base’ and better understand the work of our community mobilizers and the related…
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